Beaconsfield Hotel

Stay Here at Your own Risk!

Reviewed November 29, 2011

I was not terribly familiar with London when booking this hotel, but did so because it seemed reasonably priced and fairly close in. It ended up being neither and was filthy to boot.

Their claim that they are convenient to the city center is misleading, it is at least 45 min to the center by bus and underground. When I arrived at the pub where you check in, the woman behind the bar demanded full payment up front, which I politely declined before seeing the room. They reluctantly agreed to show it to me first and I was led up 4 flights to my non-smoking "luxury" en suite which had not been hoovered, had a stopped-up sink full of grey water and reeked of cigarettes. Given the substandard conditions, I explained that I could not stay there and they said that was fine, but still demanded payment for the 4 nights I had booked. After much discussion, the employee offered to only charge me for one night and I reluctantly agreed since they already had my card info from the booking site. I stayed in the filthy room that night and left as quickly as possible the next morning, hoping to put the experience behind me, which I did until several days later when I discovered that they had gone ahead and charged me for 4 nights anyway! Numerous phone calls and emails with the owner since then have gone nowhere, he flatly refuses to refund any money.

The moral of the story is: do not stay here! That is, unless you enjoy sub-standard service, being surrounded by filth and the possibility of getting ripped off.

Unique Quality: The hotel is located above a pub, which is where you check in, at the bar. When the bar is not open, access to the hotel is via the fire escape.